A steam facial has many benefits; but as with any other source of heat, the steam does dehydrate your Skin. That is why any facial steamer routine calls for applying moisturizer at the end. You need to introduce some type of moisture to your skin to avoid drying and irritation.
Naturally, that brings up a question – what type of moisturizer should you use? What kind of moisturizer is ideal after a steam facial? Do you need to go with the premium stuff, or will any regular moisturizer be adequate?
To answer that question, let’s take a look at what happens when you steam your face (assuming you used some type of face mask afterwards):
The heat from the steam dilates your pores – that’s what people refer to as “opening up your pores”. While you can’t actually open or close your pores, the heat does dilate them – essentially making the opening wider.
The face mask afterwards removes all dead skin and other types of debris from the surface of your skin. (On a side note: If you suffer from acne, or want to prevent it, don’t skip this step. A face mask, especially a clay or mud mask is one of the best ways to fight acne).
What benefits this has:
With your pores opened up, they are able to absorb the moisturizer more effectively.
If you applied a face mask afterwards, your skin should now be clear of dead skin flakes. Those pesky flakes of dead skin are not only responsible for acne, they are also “moisturizer parasites”. They can absorb up to 50% of the product that you apply. With the dead skin gone, your skin can absorb the moisturizer more efficiently.
The image below shows highly magnified flakes of dead skin. Your face is normally covered with them!
What this means for you
The two benefits discussed above are good news – you don’t need to splurge on expensive moisturizers!
Have you ever wondered what you are paying for when you purchase the premium stuff? Besides the fancy name on the outside of the package, the expensive moisturizers also contain chemicals and proprietary ingredients formulated for everyday use – which includes clogged pores, and unexfoliated skin. What makes things worse is that some of those ingredients are actually pore cloggers themselves.
Why you don’t need premium
Premium moisturizers are designed to get through the outer flaking dead layer of skin, and down to the live layer, which needs it.
They also contain ingredients such as silicone, which gives the products a silkier feel, but also makes it slippery and easier to apply.
Finally, the premium moisturizers are finer in texture (smaller molecule size), which makes absorption easier for non dilated pores.
Remember the benefits we talked about earlier? They definitely apply here:
Your pores are opened up after a facial steam, which makes your skin absorb the moisturizer effectively. And after a face mask, you don’t have dead skin cells stealing away the product from the rest of your face.
Ok, so we don’t need to use an expensive moisturizer after a facial steam session. What should we use? Let’s take a look.
Heat therapy
A facial steamer provides many benefits for your skin, one of them being the therapeutic effects of the heat from the steam.
Heat increases extensibility of collagen tissues. But what does that mean?
Extensibility is the ability of something to be stretched out. An increase in extensibility is actually a very good thing. It prevents your skin from being brittle and cracking easily.
Ideally your skin should be like this rubber band. It should be able to stretch without breaking.
Extensibility vs elasticity
Elasticity is the ability of something to return to its natural state after being stretched out. The rubber band in the image above should return to its original size after you let go right? That’s elasticity.
If your skin loses its elasticity, that is where wrinkles, loose or saggy skin, and fine lines come from.
What gives your skin its elasticity is a connective tissue called elastin. Unfortunately, your skin stops producing elastin around the time you reach puberty. Collagen rich creams get all of the hype and publicity, but creams containing elastin are much more effective at promoting and retaining the elasticity of your skin.
To put it all together – an ideal cream or moisturizer should balance the extensibility gained from the heat therapy, by introducing elastin to the mix to promote more elasticity.
Great! Now what should we use??
The short answer is: creams or moisturizers containing retinoids. The most common one which you’ll see is called retinol, however you might also find products containing retinaldehyde or tretinoin.
Retinoids are another name for Vitamin A, which is essential for normal skin function, and new skin development. Vitamin A actually goes beyond just improving skin elasticity. It also:
- Prevents collagen from breaking down
- Increases the production of collagen
- Improves the water barrier capability of skin
- An Anti-inflammatory vitamin
- Noticeably reverses several signs of aging
If you already have a preferred product that works for you, keep using it. If not, I would recommend one of these two:
1.) CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Serum Facial Moisturizer
The reason why I love this moisturizer from CeraVe is because it contains hyaluronic acid, and three essential ceramides (1, 3, 6-II). Ceramides are basically fatty acids. They help protect the outer barrier of your skin, by making it supple, and plump – which helps your skin retain moisture.
One of the features of this moisturizer is that it contains encapsulated retinol, which slows down it’s absorption, and minimizes irritation.
2.) Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Anti-Wrinkle Deep Wrinkle Daily Moisturizer With Retinol
The Ageless Intensives daily moisturizer from Neutrogena also contains hyaluronic acid, and helps your skin retain moisture like the CeraVe moisturizer. It also uses a sustained action formula to limit the rate of absorption.
This moisturizer from Neutrogena also contains SPF20 – a bonus if you’re planning on going outdoors!
A few things to consider:
As mentioned above, up to half of the moisturizer you apply is absorbed by the flakes of dead skin. Since your skin is clean now, you only need to apply about half of what you normally do. A little will go a long way, so start with a pearl sized amount, and work your way up if not enough.
Creams containing retinol are a commonly prescribed for moderate to severe acne. Some people experience redness and peeling of the skin after applying a retinol cream, which is completely normal. Over time, your skin does adjust, and the redness and/or peeling does stop. The two products referenced above use encapsulated retinol, which slows down the absorption to prevent redness or peeling, but sensitive skin types might still be affected.
Either way, retinol is relatively strong stuff, so don’t cover your face like frosting on a cake.
Finally, If your skin care routine involves applying several products, apply the retinol cream first, and give it a minute or two to absorb into your skin.
